Food Disappointment BIG Time...

[FJS961]

I also consider the main dining food to be the lowlight of a Disney cruise. The meals are long, the descriptions pretentious, the food--as many have said--cheap banquet bad. It's not you.

The food on the lunch buffets wasn't better, but at least you could get it quickly and closer to the temperature at which it was supposed to be served.

DCL really doesn't do much of anything well in terms of food. Out of the 27 dishes I ate in the MDR, I would have allowed two of them to leave the kitchen (both cold fruit soups). Most were just edibly bland, and several were total failures--'fancy' stuff like escargot, lobster, elk, and oysters Rockefeller seemed most likely to be on that list. I would encourage them to drop the 'fine dining' charade and concentrate on doing simple, reproducible things well--but since they also can't manage to cook a simple pizza, I'm not sure they're capable of that either!

 

[Snurk71]

since they also can't manage to cook a simple pizza, I'm not sure they're capable of that either!

I thought the pizza was fine. I had a couple slices each night for a late night snack. Nothing at all like the bad stuff at WDW.

 

[princess aleya]

I'm sorry that you didn't enjoy the food on your cruise. I have to agree with you, that having good food on a vacation is really important. We enjoyed the food we ate on the Disney Magic, there were so many good choices. We sailed on Carnival last year and found the food to be mediocre at best. There was not a big selection to choose from. The lines were too long at the buffet and the food was not good IMOP. I really hope the food is good when we sail in November, really looking forward to going back to Palo.

 

[FJS961]

I thought the pizza was fine. I had a couple slices each night for a late night snack. Nothing at all like the bad stuff at WDW.

The only pizza on DCL that I like is made in Palo at the brunch

 

[poohluv2u]

I definitely agree that the pizza is not good. The crust is disgusting and the two slices of transparent pepperoni doesn't increase it's over all worth

 

[poohluv2u]

The only pizza on DCL that I like is made in Palo at the brunch

The Blue cheese & Grape is heavenly

 

[dclcruiser88]

I'm sad to hear the pizza is bad!
I loved the pizza when I sailed years ago!

What's happened? I know they do not have a wood fired oven for obvious reasons, but is it that bad now?

 

[sissy_ib]

I'm sad to hear the pizza is bad!
I loved the pizza when I sailed years ago!

What's happened? I know they do not have a wood fired oven for obvious reasons, but is it that bad now?

I liked the 4 cheese pizza from room service. We got a few slices from the pool deck one day and did not care for it.

 

[poohluv2u]

I'm sad to hear the pizza is bad!
I loved the pizza when I sailed years ago!

What's happened? I know they do not have a wood fired oven for obvious reasons, but is it that bad now?

I don't mind a prepared crust, we've added our own toppings to Digiorno frozen pizza at kids parties that tasted much better than what they dish up at Pinocchio's

 

[FJS961]

The Blue cheese & Grape is heavenly

precisely!

 

[bruwench]

If I was to pick a cruise based on cuisine, Disney would not be in the running. I have read about passengers who travel without children (their own or within a group that has children) and often wonder "Why?" I love Disney for my kids and this is the where we are in our lives, but there are so many cruise lines out there that have better food, better itineraries, are more catered towards adults and are the same or the less price then Disney. Of course, you, wouldn't have the Disney experience. (I also would not go to Disney World/land for an "adult vacation," either.)

This is exactly why adults book a vacation of any kind with Disney—for the "Disney Experience." We don't have any kids yet, but manage to get to Disney World about once a year. I understand it's not for everyone, I totally get that. And yeah, my husband and I do enjoy our non-Disney, adults-only vacations.

But in some regards, Disney is in a class of its own, and it's those qualities—the distinct level of service, uniqueness of atmosphere, and overall attention to detail—that keeps us coming back. When we start a Disney vacation, it's like stepping into a whole different world. It makes us feel like two very special, but very overgrown children.

My husband and I have cruised a few times before, but this will be our first with Disney. While I'm disappointed to hear some of the negative reviews on food and service in the MDR (another active thread), they sound about par for the course based on our previous experiences with Carnival and Holland. Our hope is that the overall experience is the magical one we have come to expect from Disney!

 

[texasgirl73]

Its funny how expectations work. After reading about the various pizzas here on the board I ended up being pleasantly surprised by Luigis pizza and a tad disappointed by the Blue Cheese and Grape pizza at Palo. The Blue Cheese and grape was good, don't get me wrong, but reading the rave reviews had me expecting more. But Luigis pizza was much better than what I had been expecting (yeah it wasn't that great but everyone here had me expecting worse.) I guess I owe all the pizza snobs for keeping my expectations low.

 

[dclcruiser88]

So is the crust and base stale?
They were so yummy before!
3 slices of pizza and some chicken tenders with honey mustard amazing!
Set me up in the afternoon before a late MDR seating!
(ok and maybe an ice cream )

 

[poohluv2u]

This is exactly why adults book a vacation of any kind with Disney—for the "Disney Experience." We don't have any kids yet, but manage to get to Disney World about once a year. I understand it's not for everyone, I totally get that. And yeah, my husband and I do enjoy our non-Disney, adults-only vacations.

But in some regards, Disney is in a class of its own, and it's those qualities—the distinct level of service, uniqueness of atmosphere, and overall attention to detail—that keeps us coming back. When we start a Disney vacation, it's like stepping into a whole different world. It makes us feel like two very special, but very overgrown children.

My husband and I have cruised a few times before, but this will be our first with Disney. While I'm disappointed to hear some of the negative reviews on food and service in the MDR (another active thread), they sound about par for the course based on our previous experiences with Carnival and Holland. Our hope is that the overall experience is the magical one we have come to expect from Disney!

Don't get me wrong, while the food could use some improvement, we will only cruise with Disney. The experience of that magic only Disney can provide, is worth a few bumps in an otherwise ideal cruising situation for us .

So is the crust and base stale?
They were so yummy before!
3 slices of pizza and some chicken tenders with honey mustard amazing!
Set me up in the afternoon before a late MDR seating!
(ok and maybe an ice cream )

Certainly not stale we enjoy the chicken tenders also, and on our earlier cruises they offered a honey mustard dipping sauce. Now they have something that they call sauce, but it is not the same. We have started bringing our own bottle of honey mustard dressing to dip the chicken in, and with actual refrigerators in the cabins it's now easier to store it.

 

[darkwing818]

We've sailed DCL 7 times, (with 3 more scheduled) and can truly say we have not found the MDR food to be as Bad as the OP described. Has it been Great? Of course not, but we find it to be better than average, say maybe a "7" out of 10.
It may help, that I tend stay with our server's recommendations (mentioned by a PP), my wife has had a few issues in the past, but she tends to not to go with the server's choices, more than I do.
As for Palo & Remy, both have been much better than average; Remy would get a 10, Palo an 8.5. We love the Palo brunch, could be the mimosas influence. Can't wait to try the Remy Lunch on our October cruise, if we can get a reservation.
As to what restaurants we eat on land, we enjoy steak, so we hit places like, Fleming's, Ruth's Chris, J. Alexander's, Stoney River and also like Bonefish grill (though not for steak). We also like local family owned Mexican restaurants.
Full disclosure, I also enjoy Sonic's Grilled Cheese & Bacon sandwiches as well as their breakfast burritos.

 

[lmhall2000]

So is the crust and base stale?
They were so yummy before!
3 slices of pizza and some chicken tenders with honey mustard amazing!
Set me up in the afternoon before a late MDR seating!
(ok and maybe an ice cream )

Here is my take...The crust is all wrong!! You know how good pizza has this stretchy quality...you slowly pull the crust apart and you can see the 'fibers' stretch a bit before breaking...well, Disney's has no 'give'. To me it is like eating cardboard...I love pizza but can not even eat a piece on the ship. Wondering if you get a hot new slice if it has not hardened already.

 

[bruwench]

Don't get me wrong, while the food could use some improvement, we will only cruise with Disney. The experience of that magic only Disney can provide, is worth a few bumps in an otherwise ideal cruising situation for us .

Right on! I can't wait!

 

[dclcruiser88]

Here is my take...The crust is all wrong!! You know how good pizza has this stretchy quality...you slowly pull the crust apart and you can see the 'fibers' stretch a bit before breaking...well, Disney's has no 'give'. To me it is like eating cardboard...I love pizza but can not even eat a piece on the ship. Wondering if you get a hot new slice if it has not hardened already.

Are the pizza slices sitting in a warming counter or behind in the oven when you ask?
Also are the toppings set or can you ask for extra cheese or pepperoni or something?
As you say, I wonder if you ask for a personalized pizza it will taste better and more fresh straight from the oven?
They used to taste really good with a thin crust!

poohluv2u,
Do they still have the BBQ sauce?
That will be my next choice for the chicken tenders! And some Mayo for the fries! Yum Yum Yum Yum!

 

[Keurigirl]

Shay, I totally agree with you, and we're not even fancy eaters by any standard. We're regulars at chain restaurants and I really don't have high standards. But I had the same experience on the Princess cruises we'd been on prior to Disney - the food stinks. It's all bland, bland, bland.

 

[kcashner]

Are the pizza slices sitting in a warming counter or behind in the oven when you ask?
Also are the toppings set or can you ask for extra cheese or pepperoni or something?
As you say, I wonder if you ask for a personalized pizza it will taste better and more fresh straight from the oven?
They used to taste really good with a thin crust!

poohluv2u,
Do they still have the BBQ sauce?
That will be my next choice for the chicken tenders! And some Mayo for the fries! Yum Yum Yum Yum!

The "regular" pizza (not Palo) is sitting behind that counter, but it goes so quickly that you often get a fresh one. The toppings are "set,"--no specials. They usually have 4 or 5 kinds available. On our last cruise, there was a "special of the day" each day. You do see the CMs spreading the toppings and baking them. I guess it is possible to get a slice that has been sitting for a while, but that's not normally our experience.

Room service pizza is different--it will be baked when you order it, and is a bit better. Still not great though. It's better than grocery store frozen pizza but not as good as Papa John's or other pizza places.